The Ashanti’s Political, Military, Judicial, and Economic Organization Evolution and Change (1750-1824)

Abstract

The central theme of this study deals with the Ashanti’s political, judicial, military, and economic systems of organization and the identification of various internal factors which determined first the structure of the Ashanti institutions and second the performance of its ruling authorities. It retraces the historical rise of the Ashanti’s West African kingdom originating from the Gold Coast region through a period stretching from their first settlements into the forest region till the years of progressive decline. This research paper scrutinizes the evolution of the political and economic systems in Ashanti in relation with highly developed military and judicial institutions made in the hands of supreme kings, the Asantehenes. Four Asantehenes are presented in the enclosed thesis. Two of them, the Asantehene Osei Bonsu (1695-1731) and Apoku Ware (1731-1750) formed the historical background for the stereotype of a traditional system of ruling and managing the Ashanti people who pledged allegiance to the ‘Golden Stool’ and to traditional rules and customs. Then, the work will follow the presentation of how the third Asantehene, Osei Kwadwo (1750-1800) refused to remain under a static decentralized chieftaincy and a subsistence economy. Osei Bonsu’s revolutionary changes (1800-1824) will be analyzed later notably by the introduction of new agents in charge of the whole institutions of what was known at that time as the Ashanti empire. Hence, this paper examines the Asantehenes’ genius roles in centralizing political rule and economic enterprise which underwent radical changes in ruling the political, judicial, military, and economic organization. The major causes for such changes are due to the interaction of various factors related to the Ashanti internal conflicts, the existence northern communities in the Ashanti territory. Unfortunately, the Ashanties witnessed many years of successive revolts from the neighbouring subdued people who sought protection from Europeans on the coast and that marked the Ashanties decline that will be analyzed later for such a satisfactory constructed account.